This story is about a friend of mine called Christopher Dingley. After graduating High School, Chris and a couple of his friends wanted to do a Gap Year Travel and so they went to some great places around the world for 5 months and did great gap year activities. On their trip, they saw amazing things and met people they will never forget…

The friends started off by visiting and travel Thailand; this is one of the most beautiful cheap places in the world. You can see a lot without spending too much money. The nightlife is also very good in Thailand. But in order to do more cultural stuff, Chris and his friends went to travel Cambodia and visit Vietnam where they saw great statues and buildings and relived the war in Vietnam by wandering through the tunnels, seeing the horrible traps from the Vietnamese people and even shooting with guns.

Afterwards, the gap year trip continued towards Singapore, Australia and especially New Zealand where they did amazing stuff. Chris told me that New Zealand was one of his best experiences and everyone has to go there if you have the opportunity. The only negative part, he said, is that it’s very expensive because you want to do as much as possible: walking in glaciers, visiting crocodile farms, going on boat trips, skydiving over the best place in the world to do so, and this is just a little summary of all the great opportunities of the South Pacific island.

At the Fiji Island, Chris and his friends experienced the slow, relaxing way of life at one of the most magical beaches in the world. They travelled extremely beautiful islands for three weeks and prepared themselves for more mainstream stuff. Because afterwards, they visited Hollywood and other attractions in Los Angeles, went to travel Mexico and they finished their perfect trip in a perfect way by going to Las Vegas and live the Las Vegas life for one night.

Talking about a good way to experience a gap year program, I think Chris and his friends topped it all

Brazil is in South America and the biggest of the countries in the continent. Thus I chose it to be my destination for a gap year travel Brazil and secondly because it is a Catholic country. I am interested to be immersed in a Catholic community rather quite different in what I was used to. In my home country there are a few Catholics to mingle with but here the whole country is a Catholic and it is a baffling experience.

Right every after volunteer Brazil I will go together with my friends and join in the church service. The irony of it was that the church activity is just a side activity. Yet, I found so much meaning in everything. In my home country I was also involve with the church service but here there are so many people inside the church; there are so many people who pray.

The locals and the agency made sure that I will have the chance to see the tourist attractions in the place like Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Fernando de Noronha. Yet Rio de Janeiro made the most impact.

have you visited the Biggest Christ in Rio de Janeiro? Or if you have been to the place how did you savor the experience? Did you tour it haphazardly or you toured it slowly and take every piece of the enchanting scenery as much as the brain could take and record and took hundreds of pictures? I did just the later… and the mere fact that I was walking with the believers also added meaning to the whole experience. The statue of the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro stands 120 feet tall and was made of soapstone. It was included now in the Seven Wonders of the World situated on top of the Corcovado Mountain.

I did my soul searching on very top of this mountain on my gap year Brazil.

Travel is expensive. School is expensive. But you can have both by doing gap year abroad. I am no savvy traveler but my heart cries out for real travel. I had saved both for school and for travel. And to tell you I wanted to do both and hit three birds in one stone. Gap year adventure can give these ‘wantings’ of my heart. I can travel, see the paces where the gods go and at the same time get the university slot I had been rooting for.

I wanted my travel to be not just another travel. I wanted to do it with a big bang…perhaps not on a luxury basis but I wanted to visit places that have real impact on the travel itinerary. I wanted to see something that will last if not for a lifetime but for several hundred of years. For me that is the true meaning of choosing a gap year travel destinations.

Machu Picchu is a very unique name that even reading will make you think on how to pronounce it. Besides the name the information about is totally blank until I searched on it online. Impressions were made. Pictures were created. But the fact remains it is calling me to come for a visit during my gap year adventure.

The place is actually an Inca Empire located on a mountain in Peru and is referred to as the lost city of Incas. The intoxicating beauty that it has will baffle anyone that will see it. Its history and structure is rich and is a UNESCO site.

If the picture will enthrall you then perhaps so will the real place? It is said that Machu Picchu is made by the Inca rulers and was abandoned. It is located between mountains and is North West of Cusco; from here you can have a train ride and arrive in Aguas Calientes and ride a bus going to the site itself.

You can not expect to really savor the sight alone for foreigners abound in the area. Thus, an early morning walk or late evening walk is a better way of visiting to avoid the crowd. Yet the best way to travel to Machu Picchu is through trekking. The activity is controlled by the government and thus your safety is assured. By doing this you will arrive and appreciate your arrival in the site more. You will enter the site through the Sun Gate… and the experience is priceless.

Australia is now leading the top list for destinations for a gap year exchange programs. The country will make sure that your gap year yesterday in Australia will be with you for the rest of your life. Gap year travel is most common in European countries but now the American education system already encourages their students to take a gap year for it actually complements formal education.

The intangible effects of a gap year travel are in fact the most powerful, moving and influential among students life. And parents are looking and searching for a place to make this gap year travel phenomenon a reality- and they have found- Australia. Gap year programs Australia had been hitting the top charts for favorite destination for almost two years in a row. And the mysteries will be uncovered now.

Australia as a destination for gap year travel can offer the gappers so many world known attractions. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s great tourist attractions that every decent tourist should visit and see in Australia. It is composed of 1,400 miles long and of course the largest natural attraction in the world. Every world known magazine such as National Geographic had already featured the best of the Great Barrier Reef. But by visiting the location you will experience more than amazement and more than words can describe.

Gap year programs worldwide find Australia a most complete destination for the said travel. From the West of Australia you will destinations like Mitchell Falls, Karajini and The Bungles top of the list. In the north side of Australia it is bordered by great tourist destinations like Katherine Gorge, Litchfiel ad Darwin. Kangaroo Island and Nullabour, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania are also the perfect place to visit in the south part of the country.

The mystery actually with Australia is never a hidden mystery but something that each student that joins a gap year exchange programs can enjoy and discover.